Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Loblaw Companies Limited (TSE:L - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$182.14 and traded as high as C$190.41. Loblaw Companies shares last traded at C$190.03, with a volume of 506,661 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Loblaw Companies from C$205.00 to C$217.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. CIBC boosted their price target on Loblaw Companies from C$206.00 to C$208.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Loblaw Companies from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a C$200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$225.00 to C$210.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Loblaw Companies from C$202.00 to C$195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$199.38.

Loblaw Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 166.11, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of C$58.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$183.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$182.30.

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Loblaw Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.513 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.05 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Loblaw Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Loblaw Companies news, Senior Officer Kieran Barry Columb sold 11,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total transaction of C$2,109,706.39. Also, Director Richard Dufresne sold 25,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$186.55, for a total value of C$4,809,847.01. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,456 shares of company stock worth $25,966,244. 53.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Loblaw Companies Company Profile

Loblaw is one of Canada's largest grocery, pharmacy, and general merchandise retailers, operating the most expansive store footprint in Ontario and maintaining sizable presences in provinces like Quebec and British Columbia. Key grocery banners include Loblaw, No Frills, and Maxi, while its pharmaceutical operations are the product of its 2014 acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart.